Gentle Hearts
by RuikaRose
Summary: Kyo. Raito is a normal high school student, but he dreams of another world where a mysterious black-haired man calls him 'Kira'. Several of his classmates begin to have similar experiences - just what are they beginning to remember? LxLight pairing.
1. Friends

**AN: This one's more focussed on Matt and Near, and their views on what's happening. The story definitely flicks back and forth between narrators, but if there's one thing I've learned in English class it's that when you use third person for a story, you can do whatever you want. :)**

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Near answered the kiss with a painful feeling building up inside of him. Mello's lips separated from his gently, and he opened his eyes slowly to see his lover's scowling face close to his own. "Fascinating…" he muttered again, and his scowl deepened.

But there was something…intriguing about Raito, and Near knew all too well that Mello felt it too, the strange appeal of him. He did not bother pointing this out to the blonde, who would not accept anything unless it was under his own terms.

And if it meant that he would kiss him again, how could he resist?

Mello stared at him for a few moments before pushing him away roughly. The silver-haired boy felt a rush of disappointment but his face remained composed. Looking over his lover's shoulders, he acknowledged the youth watching them at the window with a deep nod.

"What are you…?" Mello spun around quickly, his stance aggressive, but when he recognized his friend he faltered. "R-Raito?" he said weakly.

The other boy's face, barely visible through the dirtied glass, was shocked. It disappeared and the loud noise of footsteps hurrying down the stairs replaced it. "Raito!" Mello called desperately, and he ran after him.

Left alone on the roof, Near crouched silently, with his arms hugging his knees tightly and his face buried in his shirt.

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"_Turn it off."_

_The redhead ignored him, concentrating intently on the small screen of the Gameboy in his hands. It beeped loudly as his fingers moved over the buttons furiously._

"_I said, turn it off!" the voice became more commanding, but he still ignored it._

_He didn't flinch when the console was pulled from his hands forcible and thrown against the wall. The man watched without expression as it shattered, the pieces cutting through the air in all directions. "I warned you to turn the damn thing off," his companion said, clearly annoyed._

"_Jackass," he muttered and was promptly hit over the head roughly._

_His companion and the owner of the voice, a slender blonde man, scowled at him where he sat. "Just shut the hell up and do your job," he hissed._

_Without rising from his seat the redhead grabbed his friend's arm easily and pulled him close when he was momentarily caught off-guard. "My Gameboy's broken. Give me something else to play with," he told him, his words suggestive._

_Lightly he pulled him closer, loosening his grip so that the blonde knew that he could pull away if he so chose. When their lips were almost touching, he let go altogether. He smirked at his companion, who blushed slightly and straightened._

"_Don't screw around," he told him, his voice softer, accepting that he had lost._

_Then he left the room without another word to, his friend knew, go buy him another Gameboy._

"Matt!"

The voice was insistent, and damned annoying. Matt opened his eyes reluctantly and was not surprised to see the menacing figure of his uptight teacher, Yagami-sensei, towering over him. "Oh," he said tiredly and leaned his head on his desk again, intent on returning to his dreams.

In one swift movement the desk was moved out from under him, and Matt lifted his head to see that his teacher had pulled it away and was now looking at him with a disapproving frown. "I need your concentration in my classes, Matt," he lectured.

Not paying attention was better than not turning up at all the boy thought, but he kept his opinion to himself. That guy Raito was quickly becoming famous for his disappearing act, but Yagami-sensei never seemed willing to call him out on it. Matt wasn't the only one who thought he might be acting differently if Raito wasn't his son.

Yagami-sensei noticed his pupil's quick glance at the empty desk on the other side of the classroom. He sighed, and gently slid the desk back to its original spot. "Please try harder in future, Matt," he told him seriously and walked back to the front of the room to continue with his lesson.

Really, the man wasn't all that uptight. Not exactly irritating either, despite the fact that he had opted for a job which involved trying to get Matt interested in trigonometry. His problem was that he was too traditional, expecting his students to hang on his every word and follow his orders without question. The man seemed more suited for…well, something else.

Matt yawned loudly and rested his head on the desk, falling asleep in moments. From his position in front of the blackboard Yagami-sensei noticed this but did not stop him.

Finally the bell rang for the end of class and the redhead stirred as the people around him began talking amongst themselves and collecting their things. He stood up languidly and rubbed his eyes with one hand, picking up his books with the other.

"Matt," the teacher called from the front of the room when the other students had left. "I'll need you to come with me to my office now. We need to discuss your lack of effort in class." The boy blinked at him as his words took their time to register in his not-yet-fully-awake mind. At last he nodded and shifted his books so they rested in the crook of his arm comfortably.

Yagami-sensei collected his own belongings and then indicated for him to follow. More awake now, Matt stepped obediently after him. Noticing that the older man was struggling to balance his books, he offered to carry them for him, less an act of kindness than him wanting to get their 'discussion' over and done with so he could go home.

They neared his office in silence, both feeling that they were only present out of obligation. Suddenly loud crashing noises and the sound of hurried footsteps reached their ears. "Huh?" Yagami-sensei stepped forward to look down one of the attached corridors, and was nearly bowled over by his son.

Raito looked surprised and red-faced, and he narrowly dodged Matt, who had stopped at the sounds. "Just stop so I can explain, you idiot!" Mello shouted after him loudly, hot in pursuit of his friend. As the two raced down the corridor from which he had came, the redhead looked after them with an amused smile.

"What was that?!" Yagami-sensei appeared flustered by the sudden appearance. Understandable, really. Apparently the man thought his son was all but perfect.

Matt eyed the pages of the book that had flown open with curiosity, coming to the realization that he might be holding in his arms some important documents, maybe even some test results he could forge. "Lover's tiff," he said offhandedly.

"What?!" his teacher looked at him, surprised. When he did not reply, Yagami-sensei put the comment down to a joke and composed himself. "Well, alright then. Come into my office, please." The older man spoke, carefully adjusting his tie to teacherly perfection.

After placing his armload carefully on Yagami-sensei's desk, Matt was directed to sit in the seat across from him. "Now, do you have any personal issues with what we are covering in my class?" Yagami-sensei asked him, elbows propped casually on the desk's surface and chin resting on his interlocked fingers.

"No."

"Do you think you will be able to motivate yourself more in the future?"

"Yes."

"Okay, Matt. You can leave." They had repeated this cycle so many times without any change, that neither even really cared about the whole thing beyond what they did out of politeness.

Silently the boy rose from his seat and stepped towards the door, bowing to his teacher formally before leaving. He had taken no more than a few steps down the wide hallway before he heard the sounds of the two other boys becoming steadily louder again.

Matt turned and neatly avoided being tripped over by Raito, who paused for a moment to nod apologetically at him. These few seconds were enough for Mello to get close enough to grab the back of his shirt. "Stop!" he shouted and launched himself at him, pushing his friend to the ground heavily.

"Oof! Why should I!" Raito yelled back at him, his voice muffled as his face was pressed against the floor. He struggled but could not get himself free of Mello's weight. Matt watched on, enjoying the entertainment.

A door slid open with a faint clatter. "What an interesting welcome." All three froze at the familiar sounding voice, each struck by an odd feeling of recognition.

They looked up slowly, taking in the plain blue jeans and white shirt and finally the dark, intelligent eyes underneath wild black hair. A new student, Matt realized, seeing that a dark blue blazer similar to the one he wore himself had been thrown over his shirt loosely.

"Wha…? Raito?" Mello spoke worriedly and jumped off his friend, opting to crouch near him. The youth turned until he was lying on his back, undoubtedly appreciating the sudden freedom. His friend touched his head gently and pushed a few loose strands of hair out of his eyes. Matt got a glimpse of his face and was surprised by what he saw.

Raito's eyes stared endlessly up at those of the boy at the door, and a single tear fell down his cheek.

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**AN: Yagami-san is a teacher!!! I think you'll find some other members of the faculty quite interesting too... Matt was introduced here and I'm very happy that that was able to happen. Near and Mello have a questionable relationship, Matt is either bored or sadistic or both - I'll say detached - and everybody seems to know more than they're letting on. Or at least Near and Mello do, at this point in the story.**

**To keep up the information, Yagami-san is the same age as in the official Death Note, so around forty-something. Matt is in the same year as Raito and he is seventeen. I'm hoping you'll be able to pick up these little things as the story goes on.**


	2. Lovers

**AN: This one's more focussed on Matt and Near, and their views on what's happening. The story definitely flicks back and forth between narrators, but if there's one thing I've learned in English class it's that when you use third person for a story, you can do whatever you want. :)**

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Near answered the kiss with a painful feeling building up inside of him. Mello's lips separated from his gently, and he opened his eyes slowly to see his lover's scowling face close to his own. "Fascinating…" he muttered again, and his scowl deepened.

But there was something…intriguing about Raito, and Near knew all too well that Mello felt it too, the strange appeal of him. He did not bother pointing this out to the blonde, who would not accept anything unless it was under his own terms.

And if it meant that he would kiss him again, how could he resist?

Mello stared at him for a few moments before pushing him away roughly. The silver-haired boy felt a rush of disappointment but his face remained composed. Looking over his lover's shoulders, he acknowledged the youth watching them at the window with a deep nod.

"What are you…?" Mello spun around quickly, his stance aggressive, but when he recognized his friend he faltered. "R-Raito?" he said weakly.

The other boy's face, barely visible through the dirtied glass, was shocked. It disappeared and the loud noise of footsteps hurrying down the stairs replaced it. "Raito!" Mello called desperately, and he ran after him.

Left alone on the roof, Near crouched silently, with his arms hugging his knees tightly and his face buried in his shirt.

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"_Turn it off."_

_The redhead ignored him, concentrating intently on the small screen of the Gameboy in his hands. It beeped loudly as his fingers moved over the buttons furiously._

"_I said, turn it off!" the voice became more commanding, but he still ignored it._

_He didn't flinch when the console was pulled from his hands forcible and thrown against the wall. The man watched without expression as it shattered, the pieces cutting through the air in all directions. "I warned you to turn the damn thing off," his companion said, clearly annoyed._

"_Jackass," he muttered and was promptly hit over the head roughly._

_His companion and the owner of the voice, a slender blonde man, scowled at him where he sat. "Just shut the hell up and do your job," he hissed._

_Without rising from his seat the redhead grabbed his friend's arm easily and pulled him close when he was momentarily caught off-guard. "My Gameboy's broken. Give me something else to play with," he told him, his words suggestive._

_Lightly he pulled him closer, loosening his grip so that the blonde knew that he could pull away if he so chose. When their lips were almost touching, he let go altogether. He smirked at his companion, who blushed slightly and straightened._

"_Don't screw around," he told him, his voice softer, accepting that he had lost._

_Then he left the room without another word to, his friend knew, go buy him another Gameboy._

"Matt!"

The voice was insistent, and damned annoying. Matt opened his eyes reluctantly and was not surprised to see the menacing figure of his uptight teacher, Yagami-sensei, towering over him. "Oh," he said tiredly and leaned his head on his desk again, intent on returning to his dreams.

In one swift movement the desk was moved out from under him, and Matt lifted his head to see that his teacher had pulled it away and was now looking at him with a disapproving frown. "I need your concentration in my classes, Matt," he lectured.

Not paying attention was better than not turning up at all the boy thought, but he kept his opinion to himself. That guy Raito was quickly becoming famous for his disappearing act, but Yagami-sensei never seemed willing to call him out on it. Matt wasn't the only one who thought he might be acting differently if Raito wasn't his son.

Yagami-sensei noticed his pupil's quick glance at the empty desk on the other side of the classroom. He sighed, and gently slid the desk back to its original spot. "Please try harder in future, Matt," he told him seriously and walked back to the front of the room to continue with his lesson.

Really, the man wasn't all that uptight. Not exactly irritating either, despite the fact that he had opted for a job which involved trying to get Matt interested in trigonometry. His problem was that he was too traditional, expecting his students to hang on his every word and follow his orders without question. The man seemed more suited for…well, something else.

Matt yawned loudly and rested his head on the desk, falling asleep in moments. From his position in front of the blackboard Yagami-sensei noticed this but did not stop him.

Finally the bell rang for the end of class and the redhead stirred as the people around him began talking amongst themselves and collecting their things. He stood up languidly and rubbed his eyes with one hand, picking up his books with the other.

"Matt," the teacher called from the front of the room when the other students had left. "I'll need you to come with me to my office now. We need to discuss your lack of effort in class." The boy blinked at him as his words took their time to register in his not-yet-fully-awake mind. At last he nodded and shifted his books so they rested in the crook of his arm comfortably.

Yagami-sensei collected his own belongings and then indicated for him to follow. More awake now, Matt stepped obediently after him. Noticing that the older man was struggling to balance his books, he offered to carry them for him, less an act of kindness than him wanting to get their 'discussion' over and done with so he could go home.

They neared his office in silence, both feeling that they were only present out of obligation. Suddenly loud crashing noises and the sound of hurried footsteps reached their ears. "Huh?" Yagami-sensei stepped forward to look down one of the attached corridors, and was nearly bowled over by his son.

Raito looked surprised and red-faced, and he narrowly dodged Matt, who had stopped at the sounds. "Just stop so I can explain, you idiot!" Mello shouted after him loudly, hot in pursuit of his friend. As the two raced down the corridor from which he had came, the redhead looked after them with an amused smile.

"What was that?!" Yagami-sensei appeared flustered by the sudden appearance. Understandable, really. Apparently the man thought his son was all but perfect.

Matt eyed the pages of the book that had flown open with curiosity, coming to the realization that he might be holding in his arms some important documents, maybe even some test results he could forge. "Lover's tiff," he said offhandedly.

"What?!" his teacher looked at him, surprised. When he did not reply, Yagami-sensei put the comment down to a joke and composed himself. "Well, alright then. Come into my office, please." The older man spoke, carefully adjusting his tie to teacherly perfection.

After placing his armload carefully on Yagami-sensei's desk, Matt was directed to sit in the seat across from him. "Now, do you have any personal issues with what we are covering in my class?" Yagami-sensei asked him, elbows propped casually on the desk's surface and chin resting on his interlocked fingers.

"No."

"Do you think you will be able to motivate yourself more in the future?"

"Yes."

"Okay, Matt. You can leave." They had repeated this cycle so many times without any change, that neither even really cared about the whole thing beyond what they did out of politeness.

Silently the boy rose from his seat and stepped towards the door, bowing to his teacher formally before leaving. He had taken no more than a few steps down the wide hallway before he heard the sounds of the two other boys becoming steadily louder again.

Matt turned and neatly avoided being tripped over by Raito, who paused for a moment to nod apologetically at him. These few seconds were enough for Mello to get close enough to grab the back of his shirt. "Stop!" he shouted and launched himself at him, pushing his friend to the ground heavily.

"Oof! Why should I!" Raito yelled back at him, his voice muffled as his face was pressed against the floor. He struggled but could not get himself free of Mello's weight. Matt watched on, enjoying the entertainment.

A door slid open with a faint clatter. "What an interesting welcome." All three froze at the familiar sounding voice, each struck by an odd feeling of recognition.

They looked up slowly, taking in the plain blue jeans and white shirt and finally the dark, intelligent eyes underneath wild black hair. A new student, Matt realized, seeing that a dark blue blazer similar to the one he wore himself had been thrown over his shirt loosely.

"Wha…? Raito?" Mello spoke worriedly and jumped off his friend, opting to crouch near him. The youth turned until he was lying on his back, undoubtedly appreciating the sudden freedom. His friend touched his head gently and pushed a few loose strands of hair out of his eyes. Matt got a glimpse of his face and was surprised by what he saw.

Raito's eyes stared endlessly up at those of the boy at the door, and a single tear fell down his cheek.

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**AN: Yagami-san is a teacher!!! I think you'll find some other members of the faculty quite interesting too... Matt was introduced here and I'm very happy that that was able to happen. Near and Mello have a questionable relationship, Matt is either bored or sadistic or both - I'll say detached - and everybody seems to know more than they're letting on. Or at least Near and Mello do, at this point in the story.**

**To keep up the information, Yagami-san is the same age as in the official Death Note, so around forty-something. Matt is in the same year as Raito and he is seventeen. I'm hoping you'll be able to pick up these little things as the story goes on.**


	3. Classmates

**AN: I've gotta say, the biggest problem I have with this story is how weird to make L. Should he sit in that bizarre way? Should he be addicted to sweets? Should he even wear the uniform everybody else does? Weeell...it's tricky. Let's just see how it plays out.**

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"…start with matrices today. Take out your textbooks, please." Yagami-sensei was telling his class. The bell signifying the start of first period had rung, and his pupils were already slouching in their chairs, pulling out their books with looks of resignation.

The door slid open loudly, and the inevitable muttering began when the students saw that the infamous Raito had finally showed up to one of his designated classes. He paid them no attention, instead searching the room for a certain black-haired boy.

There he was, seated casually at a desk near the back of the room. As Raito strode easily to take his much neglected seat, his gaze did not move from his face.

Sitting at his own desk on the other side of the classroom, his books piled up in front of him untouched, Matt watched it play out silently. Glancing quickly at his teacher, he noted a faint smile touching Yagami-sensei's lips as he made a quick adjustment to the attendance roll.

Raito took his seat and dropped his satchel on his desk indifferently. He didn't even acknowledge his father, who continued the lesson with his usual air of formality. Instead he just stared at the rumpled-looking youth, who did not answer his gaze.

"Oh, Raito." Matt relished the look of surprise on his usually calm classmate, and saw his eyes flick quickly to the front of the room. "You have not yet been introduced to our new student, as I understand it. This is Ryuzaki Hideki," Yagami-sensei continued, oblivious to his son's discomfort. He indicated with one hand at the object of Raito's unwavering attention.

Raito probably hadn't met most of the people in his classes, considering his reputation when it came to attendance, Matt thought wryly. He watched with amusement as Yagami-sensei turned back to the blackboard, and Ryuzaki immediately found himself being stared at again.

The class stretched on and Matt found sufficient distraction from his boredom at the topic they were covering in Raito and Ryuzaki. The former continued staring and the latter, apparently ignorant of the attention, appeared to be fully engrossed in the work that Yagami-sensei was giving them. It was a reasonable incentive to keep himself awake.

"Now, to find the answer we need to convert the number into a percentage. Ryuzaki, do you know the answer?" Yagami-sensei had quickly realized that his new student was the only one paying enough attention to understand what he was referring to and with enough intelligence to get the right answers.

"The answer is," he responded without hesitation, not even glancing at his workbook. "Thirteen per cent."

_Thirteen per cent chance that you are Kira._

Raito flinched, and finally looked away from Ryuzaki, instead staring at nothing with his eyes wide, as the words repeated themselves over and over in his head.

_Thirteen per cent chance…_

…_you are Kira…_

…_One hundred per cent…_

What was this? What was happening? So many words, mingling together in his head until all he could hear was a loud, unbroken sound…and suddenly, it stopped. Deeply confused and feeling strangely vulnerable, Raito looked back at Ryuzaki without thought.

Only to find the boy staring at him, a knowing smile tugging at his lips.

Mello had found a window partially blocked by a row of lockers through which he could see easily the entire span of Raito's classroom. He peered through it and scowled when he saw how his friend was so clearly entranced by that strange new kid.

It was an expression that Near was seeing more and more often these days. He took a step closer and tugged at his arm gently. "We should leave now," he told him.

The blonde shrugged him off roughly and leaned closer to the window in response. "Just keep quiet and look out for any teachers, like I told you," he hissed.

Near looked at him without expression for a few moments, a painful feeling building up in his heart. He turned finally, but refused to move away from standing so close to his lover. Not for the first time he wished that Mello hadn't attached himself to Raito. What made the youth so fascinating was also that which made him dangerous.

"Ah!" Mello breathed, and Near waited for him to explain. "It's that Matt kid. He's standing up for some reason, about to leave the room…"

"We should leave now, Mello," the silver-haired boy was feeling more and more like this was a bad idea.

He appeared to consider it for a moment, but then disregarded the option. "Screw that. He's a recluse, he probably won't even give a damn." Mello nodded to himself and looked back at Raito again. "…he enjoys stuff like this, the sadist…" he spoke under his breath, with such certainty that Near was surprised. As far as he could tell the two hadn't even talked to each other before.

The classroom door slid open and Matt walked directly to where they were standing. He leaned against the row of lockers comfortably and addressed them. "Worried about your Daniel, are you, Mello? Thrown into the lion's den of our Math class? How adorable." he smiled at him widely, a challenging glint in his eyes.

"Shut the hell up," Mello said in a low, threatening tone.

"Don't worry. We've all got claws, but we don't tend to use them," the redhead looked at Mello as he spoke, gauging his reactions with what appeared to Near an odd obsession. "Besides, that guy's someone you don't want to mess with…he's the most screwed up out of all of us…"

Mello didn't answer, but Near saw that he was gripping the edge of window sill much too tightly. "So don't think you can make him your lamb, Mello dear," Matt went on, grinning.

"Don't fuck with me!" the blonde shouted at him, his expression furious.

_Don't fuck with me. I'm not the type who can take it._

Near was stunned for a moment to hear a voice inside his head. The others noticed nothing of his surprise, wrapped up in their own little war. "What's gotten you so riled up, hey?" Matt asked, gloating over his apparent victory. "Unless there's something…"

"Matt…" Mello said dangerously.

"Unless you're…"

"_Matt_…" Mello growled.

"Jealous." With that the blonde lunged at him aggressively, his hands clenched into fists.

Standing behind them, Near was silent.

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_It was dark, and the man could not see clearly where he was going, the room only lit by the screens of various computers. He was hardly surprised when he found himself on the ground, his papers scattered around him._

"_Please more careful in future," the owner of the voice did not move from where he sat, gazing intently at one of the screens. The clumsy man was helped up by the man who had been standing formally to the side._

"_Thankyou," he smiled at him gratefully._

"_Not at all, sir," the older man gave him a deep nod and returned to his usual position, where he remained silently._

_Picking up the documents lying on the floor he pushed the papers hurriedly into the crook of his arm. Several fell as he walked to where his companion waited for them, but he did not bother to even attempt to pick them up._

"_Uh, here," he put them on the desk beside the black-haired man with a sheepish smile. Again, the detective was sitting oddly, he noticed. His legs were curved, knees almost reaching his chin, and his thumb had unconsciously returned to rest at his mouth._

"_Really, doesn't it hurt to sit that way?" he asked, not for the first time._

_Dark rimmed eyes turned momentarily away from the screen to look at him. "No."_

"_Oh, is that true?" the clumsy man rubbed the back of his neck, a little surprised by his answer._

_The detective turned back to the pixilated image, his face, as ever, emotionless. "I need something for people to remember me by."_

Matsuda stirred, and opened his eyes slowly. His head was throbbing painfully, and his vision was shifting so much he closed his eyes again. "Ow…" he complained, sitting up slowly.

He touched his head lightly and winced. He could already feel a large bump forming above his ear. That would need some attention…but he was in no position to get up by himself. Matsuda sighed.

"Uh, are you okay?" He peered out from partially opened eyes and saw that Megumi, the girl he had recruited as a library assistant, was looking at him with a concerned expression.

Matsuda forced a smile, and paid dearly for it as her face began to blur. "I'll be fine, don't worry about me," he told her.

Satisfied with this answer, the girl straightened and looked around him with a deep frown on her face. "To think if you'd been half a meter closer the shelf would have fallen on you, instead of just drowning you in books." She directed her disapproving gaze at him. "_Neat, well-organized books."_

The pain was easing slightly, and Matsuda was able to appreciate Megumi's reprimands. Working at a high school library had been a dream for him, but his innate clumsiness meant that he was constantly having accidents. He needed sensible people like her around him to make sure that the library wasn't suffering for it.

"Honestly, Matsuda-sensei, why did you even decide to become a librarian?" Megumi sighed and knelt beside him to help him up gently.

The corners of his mouth curved upwards and he closed his eyes. "… something for people to remember me by…" he whispered.

"Huh?"

"I'll be right now, Megumi. I'll leave you to attend to the fallen shelf, and head to the nurse's office now." Matsuda smiled at her, feeling much better now that the initial pain had almost worn off and glad to be on his feet. She nodded seriously and got to work.

Walking carefully down the hallway, he wore an uncharacteristically pensive expression on his face.

That dream again…

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**AN: I'm not really keen on using swearwords in my writing because I want to keep it open to a wider audience, but sometimes other words don't cut it for Mello. Sorry if it's problematic for anyone.**

**Matsuda! I can always imagine him in a library. To be more specific, I can always imagine him hurting himself in a library. He's that kind of guy *smile*. He's also the same age as in the official Death Note. Megumi is a made-up character, she's in her senior year, but I've got no clue if she'll end up appearing in any future chapters.**

**I used the last name of the alias that L uses when he attends Light's school in the original - that is, 'Ryuuga Hideki'. He's definitely shifty in this chapter, if I say so myself...**

**...and boy, do I hate matrices...**


	4. Strangers

**AN: Here I am, brushing the dust off my keyboard and grinning evilly to myself over what I plan to do next in my running stories after a good long holiday that I really needed! I got to do plenty of interesting things, like explore a modernised convent and try to fool the locals of the towns I visited into thinking I was foreign...sometimes I think I have weird hobbies. :)**

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Raito pushed roughly through the crowd of students blocking the classroom door. They were chattering laughingly amongst themselves, some had even pulled out mobile phones, presumably to take pictures of whatever it was they were all so fascinated by.

With a few half-hearted protests from people he had pushed aside, he reached the front of the crowd. In a matter of seconds he took in the two youths fighting on the ground, and another watching on expressionlessly. Beyond angry, Raito stepped forward and grabbed Mello and Near, his hands gripping their arms painfully tightly.

Mello, who had had Matt pinned beneath him and had been venting his frustrations quite successfully by punching him in the face until his hand had come away bloodied, complained when he saw that it was his friend who had stopped him. Raito glared at him, his face twisted almost beyond recognition into a deep scowl. Near made no sound of protest.

Without sparing the wounded redhead so much as a glance, he dragged the two forcibly away from the scene, pulling them all the way to the roof and pushing them to the ground. Mello scowled and was on the verge of shouting at him, but sensed that his friend would not react well. Beside him, Near's eyes showed that he was in pain, but his face was as composed as ever.

For a few moments Raito could not speak. "_What. Was. That_." He asked finally, his voice tightly controlled but his expression still furious. If anything the quietness of his voice just made him seem even more fearsome.

Mello opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by Near. "I am sorry. I was distracted."

"What was so important that it distracted you?!" The silver-haired boy did not respond, and this appeared to express more to Raito than any words from him could have. He ran his hand through his hair in annoyance, but let the matter go. "Whatever, just do your job properly. Take better care in future."

Near lowered his head slightly in agreement. Left unacknowledged by both his friend and lover, Mello looked on incredulously at the incomprehensible exchange that was taking place between them. What was going on?

"Come to think of it, what were you even doing hanging outside my classroom? And talking to Matt, of all people! When I asked you to become Mello's protector, I had thought these kinds of situations would be avoided!" Raito eyed the silent boy with a frown. "Or perhaps you are getting too emotionally attached…"

"Please don't ever insult me by thinking emotions would get in the way of my performance." Near replied quickly and coolly.

The older youth inspected him for a moment of silence before nodding. "You're right. I apologise."

What was this? Fragile, delicate little Near…Mello's _protector_? Their discussion wasn't making any sense! His mind racing frantically to decipher their comments, Mello shook his head and decided to put aside his confusion for the moment. "Uh, Raito, it wasn't like I…you see, Matt said that-"

He flinched when Raito's glare was directed suddenly at him. "Don't bother, Mello. Friendship means you don't have to explain your own stupidity."

The blonde recoiled, wounded by Raito's words. This wasn't the first fight he'd been in, and certainly wouldn't be the last. Teenage boys tussled, it was entirely normal – so why was Raito getting so worked up over this?

The boy in question gave Near a few more reprimands before leaving the roof, slamming the door behind him loudly. Mello stared blankly at nothing in particular, rubbing his forehead as he tried again to comprehend what exactly had just happened.

"He's worried." Mello started at the calmly spoken words and turned to see Near looking at him, his expression gentle. "He thinks you're getting wilder because of him, and he doesn't want to see you that way. He blames himself for every drop of blood on your body right now." Dazedly, the blonde looked at his hand, and saw that the blood on it was beginning to dry.

"But...he can't be away from you." Near looked up at the open sky above them, his eyes following clouds. "It hurts him to see you get violent or defensive of him, but he doesn't want to lose your friendship. Sometimes," a corner of his mouth lifted almost imperceptibly, and his voice became much softer as he spoke. "Selfishness can be called loyalty."

Without warning Mello pushed him down, leaning over him with a resigned expression. "I don't think…I want to know any more." He rested his head lightly at Near's neck, his lover's silvery hair brushing gently against his face. "Please stop talking," he whispered.

Still watching the sky over Mello's strong shoulder, Near smiled contentedly and did not say a word.

Where Mello's arm rested at his side, his white shirt became streaked with red.

His face was now heavily bandaged across one side, but the smirk had still not left it. Matt was sprawled leisurely across his chair, resting his feet on his desk. It was lunch break, and whoever else had planned on spending it in the classroom had apparently run off to gossip about his appearance. He enjoyed the momentary solitude.

The only other person in the room was sitting at his desk, diligently examining his textbook for the next period. Ryuzaki Hideki – putting aside his oddly disheveled appearance, the way he positioned himself was also far from conventional. Hugging one knee to his chest, the other leg was allowed to stretch over the edge of his chair and touch the floor. The textbook rested on the desk in front of him, and he stared at each page with unbroken concentration before lifting the corner lightly between his thumb and forefinger and moving onto the next one. The two students did not acknowledge each other, but the silence was not uncomfortable.

At the sound of angry footsteps Matt stood up emphatically, and slipped his hand into the worn satchel in front of him. He carefully pulled out a large, brightly decorated container, carrying it over to where Ryuzaki sat and placing it on his desk. The boy appeared to inspect it, before looking up at Matt with a thoughtful look in his eyes. The redhead returned his gaze for a long moment before going back to his seat. A smile tugged at his lips when the door suddenly slid open.

Raito entered the room with an irritated frown on his face, which grew visibly when his eyes met Matt's. He paused, apparently seriously considering attacking the boy himself, but soon resumed his journey to his desk, which still had his Maths books open and scattered across the top of it.

Seated at his desk Ryuzaki opened the container slowly, lifting out its contents and replacing his book with them. He eyed the range of desserts attentively, and did not appear surprised by the offering at all.

Raito quickly piled up his books and equipment and began to clear his desk. Matt saw him jump visibly when Ryuzaki addressed him. "Raito."

"Uh, y-yes?" _Good job, Raito_, Matt congratulated him mentally. _Cool and casual._

"I have some cake," the dark-haired boy indicated at it with one hand.

"Yes…?" Raito said, confused.

"Would you like to share it with me?" Ryuzaki blinked at him innocently, and Matt had to stifle a laugh. He was aware of the redhead's attention, Matt realised, and was provoking Raito intentionally. How interesting.

_I'm sorry, I don't like sweet things._

"Sure," Raito grinned at him widely. He pulled his chair over so that he could share more easily. Both Ryuzaki and Matt were surprised by this reaction – both had expected that same line he had given so many times before.

Not noticing their shocked looks, he picked up a fork from the box and peered at the cakes, appearing to decide which one to try first. "Actually, I don't like sweet things, but I like to try them every now and then to remind myself why I don't like them."

He finally chose a smaller, lightly frosted chocolate piece, using the lid of the container as a makeshift plate to rest it on. Raito smiled good-naturedly at the youth sitting across from him before carefully removing the sweet decorations and chocolate shavings from the top of the slice with his fork.

Ryuzaki gazed at him thoughtfully, and Matt, watching the two, wondered if that look in his eyes was one of disappointment. He smiled suddenly, and his attention turned to making his own selection. Matt stared at the disheveled student intently; refusing to take anything he did at face-value, and saw that the smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Ah, thankyou for this, Ryuzaki," Raito told him, still concentrating on pulling apart the cake.

"It is no trouble," he replied politely, taking a long time to choose the perfect treat.

Matt was beginning to lose interest. In buying the desserts he had expected some entertainment, but Raito seemed completely unperturbed, and Ryuzaki appeared to be brooding. With a sigh he slumped in his chair.

"I don't usually catch a break like this." Raito continued, lifting the strawberry that had decorated his cake on his fork and placing it in front of Ryuzaki without thought. "I mean, a lot seems to be happening lately and-"

He stopped mid-sentence, apparently realizing what he had just done. Ryuzaki stared at him, his shocked expression mirroring the one on Raito's own face.

The fork slipped from his hand, and clattered loudly to the ground.

_......................................................................._

**AN: Matt and L are conspiring together, it seems... But their relationship isn't exactly a good one, a better way of describing their motives would be 'self-serving'. All the characters are a little more possessive than I usually make them, and I've found it enjoyable. Their misguided and selfish actions are kind of a way of expressing their affection for each other.**

**Originally I had planned to have one flashback or dream per chapter (explaining Matsuda's impromptu introduction), but I wanted to keep the pace fairly slow so people don't get overwhelmed, which is why I ended up not including one here. You can definitely expect to see more as the story progresses, though. :)**


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